Arabic version: مشجعو شاختار يجدون الوحدة في ستامفورد بريدج
According to BBC News, Shakhtar Donetsk will play their four home Champions League league-phase matches at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, giving Ukrainians in London and elsewhere in the UK a chance to support the club together. The first fixture is against AEK Athens on Wednesday, followed by visits from Real Madrid, Sporting and Fenerbahce.
For Artem Genne, who now lives in the West Midlands, the London matches revive memories of standing on the Donbas Arena pitch with a Champions League flag before Shakhtar played Chelsea in 2012. Genne left Donetsk after the Russian-backed capture of the city in 2014. He plans to attend all four games and says meeting people from his home area abroad gives him a sense of home and hope.
Shakhtar have played in Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv, as well as in Poland, Slovenia and Germany for European fixtures, while seeking a stable home. Chief executive Sergei Palkin said recent attacks had forced the club to move its under-12 team to a safer part of Kyiv, while the women’s team had a match disrupted by a nearby drone strike. He described uncertainty as the most difficult challenge for players, families and the academy.
Some supporters cannot travel to England because a UK visa costs £135 and applications must be made at least three months before entry. Others are expected to travel within Britain. Shakhtar’s away allocations for matches against Crystal Palace last season and Arsenal in the 2024-25 Champions League campaign sold out within an hour. The club also plans activities with Ukrainian children in London, including school visits and training sessions.
Fans say the fixtures offer more than football. Ukrainians from different club backgrounds are expected to unite behind Shakhtar, while events around the matches can support fundraising for supplies in Ukraine. Palkin said playing in London is an opportunity to remind people of events in Ukraine and to show that the country continues to live, work and compete internationally.
